Upholstery unit



Oct. 21, 1952 MQRNER 2,614,272

UPHOLSTERY UNIT Filed April 15, 1947 7 INVENTOR SY 10 12 g 22 9 W Patented Oct. 21, 1952 Application April I; 1947, Serial No. 741,579".

' Thisinvention relates to improvements inair filled upholstery such as cushions; up

holstery, mattresses and the like.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, ormay be learned by practice: with. the invention, thensamebelng realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities'.

and combinations pointedout intheappended claims.

The invention consists in the: novel parts, con.- structions, arrangements, combinations andimprovements herein shown and described.v

The accompanying drawings; referred to hereand constituting apart hereof, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and togetherwith the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention-.:

Of the drawings:

Fig. I. is a. view of a mattressin accordance with. the invention, showing in perspective a section of the external covering removed;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the mattress; and,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross section of the mattress taken along the lines 33 of Figure 2.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved type of air-filled upholstery unit which may be simply and quickly constructed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air-filled cushion, upholstery or mattress having surfaces which may readily be cleaned by washing and which can also be easily sterilized and not damaged by washing with an antiseptic solution.

A further object of this invention is to provide an air-filled cushion or mattress which is of extremely light weight, so that it may be easily moved or turned over, as for example by hospital attendants.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an air-filled cushion, mattress or upholstery adapted to yield elastically under the weight of a user and having a minimum tendency to curl, roll and bulge when in use and which will regain its original shape when the pressure of the user's body is removed.

In general this improved type of air-filled upholstery unit comprises two contiguous layers, positioned one over the other of closely adjacent similar cells, having walls formed of flexible, impervious thermoplastic sheet material, the side walls and one end wall of each cell in one layer molded from a single sheet of said material, the other end wall of said cell in each layer formed larly sealed to sheet I.

2' claims (01. 5-448) from a. single sheet oi' said material, the: two last: sheetsin the two layers iorming'respectiively the} top and bottom surfaces of the mattress or air fille'd upholstery unit-.- 1 I It will be understood" that the ioregoi'ng gen' eral' description and the following detaileddew scription as well are exemplary andhexplanatory of the: invention but are-not restrictive thereon Referring to thedrawingsi n detail and par ticularly to- Figsrl andz tneinventiorr howizrv as appliedito a pneumatic mattressof .-t rmoe plastic material'which in a preferredi 'mbodiment consists-of-"the plasticized copdiymer. oi

vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, the mixture comprising %,-v v-in-yl" chloride and 20% vinyl acetate; having;- anupper surface 6' formed of a si'nglesheet oi thermoplastic material-L said. mattress having: a-conven-tional cover I 6. ierririgto Fig. a a single sheet :of thermoplastic material 5 iormsthe side wallsand" one end wall of adjacent cells A while single sheet l similarly forms the side walls an'd one; end wall: ot ..adiacentr cells]; in thelowerrlayer. A single sheet 4 of said material forms the otherv end wall of cells A in the top layer while sheet 9 similarly forms the other end wall of cells B. Sheets 4 and 5 are permanently and securely sealed together at 6, as by heat sealing, while sheets I and 9 are similarly sealed. Contiguous end walls of cells A and B may be sealed to ether at l8, if desired. Top and bottom surface forming sheets 4 and 9 have an area substantially greater than the top and bottom plane areas of said mattress, the overlapping area ofv sheet 4 is formed around core Ill, sealed together'at l2 and extends downwardly beyond the core being.

sealed to sheet 5 at 20. The overlapping part of sheet 9 is similarly formed around a core and is upwardly extended beyond the core and simi- The downwardly and upwardly extending sheets described are sealed at I4 with the result that an outer side wall of double thickness is formed around the mattress. The forming of these sheets around core l0 provides a continuous overhanging rolled edge extending completely around the upper edge of the mattress and similarly around its lower edge thus formin a convenient hand grip, as when the mattress is to be turned over. Narrow air compartments 22 extending from the top to the bottom of the mattress are formed beween opposing vertical walls of cells A and B which help cushion and control distortions of said cells caused by the pressure of the Weight of a user. Similarly a narrow air space 23 extends comof said cells thus also providing a controlling factor helping to prevent excessive distortion under a body weight.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the outside rows of cells in each layer do not interconnect, while the remaining interior cells in each layer do interconnect as the continuity of the seal 6 between sheets ,4 and 5 and l and 9 is interrupted at 24. As a result, the interior portion of the mattress is formed of interconnecting cells which will be very resilient under the weight of a, reclining body and very comfortable to the user. The outer row of non-connecting cells will provide a stabilizing effect which will help prevent extensive bulging and distortion of the mattress shape under said body weight and in addition will help to prevent the top and bottom surfaces from collapsing together as they might tendv to do if all the cells interconnected and were subjectedto the weightof an unusually heavy body. v. i

The cushioning resiliency of enclosed air when subjected-to pressure is wellknown and widely used in mattresses and is especially advantageous when contained as here in a, plurality of cells. The whole mattress is formed of only four sheets of thermoplastic material which provides a simple and inexpensive construction while the use of thermoplastic material which is easily washed and not affected by theusual sterilizing agents is especially advantageous particularly in hospitals.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom, withinthe scope of the accompanying claims, without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages. 7 I

What I claim is:

1. Anair-fllled upholstery unit comprising two contiguous layers, positioned one over the other, of closely adjacent similar cells having walls formed of flexible impervious sheet material, the side walls and inner end wall of each cell in each layer molded of a single sheet of said material, the outer end wall of said cell in each layer formed of a single sheet of said material the outer sheets in the two layers forming respectively the top and bottom surfaces of said unit, the cells adjacent the margins of the unit being non-interconnecting, while the other cells are interconnected with each other.

2. An air-filled upholstery unit formed as in claim 1 with surface forming sheets having an area substantially greater than the top and bottom plane area of said cell layers, the overlapping area of said sheets being formed around a core so that overhanging edges are formed extending completely around the top and bottom surfaces of said mattress, the extremities of said top and bottom forming sheets being sealed together forming the outer side surfaces of said unit.

HANS GEORGE MORNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,738,411 Welch Dec. 3, 1929 1,985,432 Tucker et al Dec. 15, 1934 2,296,559 Krakauer Sept. 22, 1942 2,367,628 Teague Jan. 16, 1945 2,415,150 Stein Feb. 5, 1947 2,495,124 Morner June 17, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 794,573 France Dec. 12, 1935 611,572 Germany Mar. 30, 1935 

